"That Board Will Ride You"????

[chomps1211]

Originally Posted by BurtonAvenger

Think about giving a 15 year old a brand new Lambo and putting him on the Autobahn, that should sum it up pretty well.

Hmmmn,.. interesting analogy. If I follow thru on the comparison, (...leaving out any "shifting" issues which wouldn't seem to apply.)

...I imagine that 15 year old would first off, hit the gas WAY too hard, get going far too fast. Panic, Over/under steer in the turns. Ass end fishtailing, spinning out! He wouldn't be able to brake properly or with any semblance of control,.. Eventually crashing thru the guardrails, flying off the shoulder & smashing into the trees in a flaming heap!!!

OK,.. you really have seen me out on my board haven't you! (...Yeah, like you'd actually visit S.E. MI. for snowboarding!!!)

So, I guess I should be reasonably stoked that I have actually managed to learn to ride using this board without suffering any sort of debilitating crash?

[edit]
My Local hill is having a Demo Day on the 27th of Dec. 3 manufacturers attending for Burton, K2, & Rome. I would like to try riding a few different boards, especially a true twin to see if my switch riding gets a little easier. Any recommendation on any particular models I should try and demo? (...don't know how many models/options will be available and don't want to waste too much time riding something too far from my skill set)

[Lamps]

Originally Posted by chomps1211

So, I guess I should be reasonably stoked that I have actually managed to learn to ride using this board without suffering any sort of debilitating crash?

I wouldn't pop any champagne corks just yet; just because you didn't kill yourself on a non-beginner board isn't necessarily a sign of god given stupendous hidden talent, so I'd keep that day job until you're actually been signed to a pro team or make the US olympic squad.

[BurtonAvenger]

Originally Posted by chomps1211

Hmmmn,.. interesting analogy. If I follow thru on the comparison, (...leaving out any "shifting" issues which wouldn't seem to apply.)

...I imagine that 15 year old would first off, hit the gas WAY too hard, get going far too fast. Panic, Over/under steer in the turns. Ass end fishtailing, spinning out! He wouldn't be able to brake properly or with any semblance of control,.. Eventually crashing thru the guardrails, flying off the shoulder & smashing into the trees in a flaming heap!!!

OK,.. you really have seen me out on my board haven't you! (...Yeah, like you'd actually visit S.E. MI. for snowboarding!!!)

So, I guess I should be reasonably stoked that I have actually managed to learn to ride using this board without suffering any sort of debilitating crash?

What I can't come to Michigan to get my rope tow shred on?

[chomps1211]

Originally Posted by BurtonAvenger

What I can't come to Michigan to get my rope tow shred on?

Absolutely you can!! Love to have ya here!! ...just didn't think you would!!!
(...I'll even give you my glove protectors for the rope!!!)

Originally Posted by Lamps

I wouldn't pop any champagne corks just yet; just because you didn't kill yourself on a non-beginner board isn't necessarily a sign of god given stupendous hidden talent, so I'd keep that day job until you're actually been signed to a pro team or make the US olympic squad.

Yeah,.. I didn't mean to suggest anything like that!! ...still, maybe it suggest's a teeny, tiny "little bitty" ability/talent?? Maybe??

[Lamps]

Originally Posted by chomps1211

Yeah,.. I didn't mean to suggest anything like that!! ...still, maybe it suggest's a teeny, tiny "little bitty" ability/talent?? Maybe??

or a hard skull

[Edge]

First time on the slopes.

Buys Burton Custom X 10cm too big.


*endless laughs for the rest of us*

[BurtonAvenger]

Glove protector? Sir I ride bare handed.

[chomps1211]

Originally Posted by Lamps

or a hard skull

...truth be told, I got hurt far worse my first two rides on the rental equip. than I have since. I got a Hip Pointer injury that first night & after mickey mousing some DIY hip protectors, re- injured it the very next week! (...I had to convince the ski patrol I didn't need to be stretchered!)

[chomps1211]

Originally Posted by BurtonAvenger

Glove protector? Sir I ride bare handed.

[MikeIn248]

chomps1211, my experience has some things in common with yours.

My first season riding (15 days) I made very good progress, but it was all on crappy rental boards. I bought my first board at the start of my second season. It was a (directional, cambered) Donek, which are pretty stiff. (I was on a forum at the time full of Donek fans, both soft booters and hard booters, and was heavily influenced by the group think there.)

My first two or three days on that board were like a wrestling match. I thought I lost all skills I learned my first year. I couldn't make that thing work, no way no how. At some point I said the hell with trying to turn this beast and I straightlined a run. As I picked up a scary-for-me bit of speed I managed to tilt the thing on edge a bit, and holy shit that edge set in and I pulled a wicked carved turn. So that whole season I spent figuring out how that board wanted to be ridden. That thing really wanted to go fast and be on edge. What I had to learn was there was no way I could manhandle that board: I had to learn to control it with subtle movements and finesse. Now, after some years' riding, I can take that board for a ride, but that first season I can agree that it was the one taking me for a ride.

You mentioned Arbor -- I don't know their products, but I remember a few years back when the A-Frame seemed to be all the rage and I used to see guys wrestling with them all the time, just like I had done with the with the Donek.

Unfortunately, my season's on hold right now with an injury. I'll post to the Michigan thread if/when I'll be out again locally. (I am the rope tow master!)